"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I explain the original meaning of the General Welfare Clause. The federal government involves itself in nearly every aspect of American life. Government officials and apologists for governopoly often point the the Constitution's General Welfare Clause for its justification. They argue that..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #45: Interpreting the Constitution
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about how to interpret the Constitution. Before we can talk about following the Constitution every issue, every time, no exceptions no excuses, we have to understand what it means. So, how in the word do we interpret it? A lot..
Read moreDecentralization: A Strategy for Liberty
Hardcore libertarians sometimes criticize me because of my focus on the Constitution and political action at the state level to limit federal power. They argue that the American constitutional system will never bring about liberty, and that by working through government at any level, I undermine the cause of freedom. I am sympathetic to the..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #39: What Is the Role of the Federal Government?
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about the proper role of the federal government. Hint: meddling in your sex life isn't part of it! During a recent televised townhall meeting, Anderson Cooper asked Donald Trump to name the most important priorities of the federal government. Two..
Read moreConstitution 101: A General Government for Limited Purposes
If you delve into the ratification of the Constitution, you will often see the federal government referred to as the “general government.” This terminology tells us a great deal about how the founding generation understood the role of the government it created, and its relationship to the states and the people. Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #36: Rewriting Nullification History (With the Truth)
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about a recently published academic paper that obliterates conventional thinking about nullification and interposition. In 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison penned the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. These documents, approved by the..
Read moreNullification: The Path to Liberty – Burns, Oregon, 2016 (Speech)
The federal government was conceived as an institution with limited, enumerated powers. As James Madison put it in Federalist #45, "The powers delegated by the proposed constitution to the federal government are few and defined." Today we have a system that bears no resemblance to the founders' vision. This supposedly limited government claims the authority..
Read moreRefusal to Cooperate: The Moderate Middle Road Between Revolution and Unlimited Submission
Ammon Bundy and the other ranchers arrested after taking over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside Burns, Oregon,tried to go toe-to-toe with the federal government using raw force and power. They failed. The feds killed one man, and the rest of the ranchers now sit in jail, facing charges under a law passed during the..
Read morePlanned Parenthood Funding Unconstitutional; So is Republican Defunding Plan
One of the great debates over the last few weeks has centered around Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. The brouhaha started with the release of a series of undercover videos produced by anti-abortion activists that appeared to prove the organization sells fetal tissue. That prompted conservatives to call on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood...
Read morePodcast: How to Limit the Federal Government
In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I tell you how we can limit federal power based on James Madison's blueprint. The federal government exercises seemingly unlimited authority and inserts itself into virtually every area of our lives. But the feds were never meant to have this kind of power. As James Madison asserted..
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